July 2023 - Paint Chip Poetry Therapeutic Art Making Intervention

This month’s intervention I have talked about in my Creativity in the Clinical Room group over on The Teletherapist Network, but I realized I have never formally posted it! I love how accessible this intervention is as it only uses free paint chips. There are many different ways that people do Paint Chip Poetry, but I will be sharing the way I usually do it.

Please note, If you do take any photos of client’s art work, make sure you have a consent form signed for this. I have a Consent to Photograph Artwork Created in Therapy Sessions Form in my products if you need one for your practice. Even with therapeutic art making, it is ethically necessary to have this consent form signed. Also make sure to remove any identifying information from any art work before photographing it, such as names or signatures.

I offer personalized intervention ideas in the clinical consultation and supervision I provide as well! When I work one on one with clinicians, I love being able to create specific interventions tailored to each client and their presenting concerns. Feel free to reach out with any questions to see if creative supervision and consultation would be a good fit for you and your practice!

Process Video:

Age range: 8+

Diagnosis: Any

Supplies Needed:

• Paint Chips (I like the single color Behr ones, but any will do!)

• Marker/pen/permanent writing instrument

• Optional: paper and glue

Uses: This is a great intervention for identifying emotions, a new coping strategy, and creative expression

Artistic skills needed: None!

Instructions:

1. Go to your local home improvement store and gather up a bunch of paint chips! They are there to be utilized, and I always leave with a giant stack.

   • I prefer the single color Behr paint chips, but you can also use the strips of paint chips that have the different shades on them

2. If I have a client who is on telehealth and cannot get to the store themselves, I personally feel okay with mailing them an envelope of paint chips but please use your own comfort and discretion here!

3. Alternatively, you can use digital paint chips and Canva or any other editing software as well! you can find digital paint chips here or here.

4. Have your client browse through all the paint chips and pull out any with names that interest them

5. After they have their pile of words/colors, have them start to think about how to use them in a poem

   • I remind clients here they don’t have to use all the ones that they pulled out, and can use as many or as few as they would like to

6. I have clients work out and write out their poem draft on a piece of paper first so they can finalize and edit as they work

7. Once they have their poem fully written out, have them put it onto the paint chips

8. This can be done wither by writing directly on the paint chips, or they can type out the words, print them out, and then cut and glue them onto the paint chips

   • Be sure to test out your writing instruments first to make sure they don’t smudge and that they are permanent. I had initially tried to use a micron marker and it smudged and did not stay put. I also ended up preferring the aesthetic of the typed out words over my chaotic handwriting!

9. Once their poem is complete, I like to ask my clients to reflect on the colors that are in their poem. Are the colors reflective of the poem or do they seem different that the words? The example that I did just happened to end up in rainbow color order, which was a surprising accident! This can be a great place to talk about how we can associate emotions and colors, but also that the meaning of words and the emotions behind them are not always as they seem

Intervention Example

*A note about examples: Please be careful about sharing an example of the intervention with your client. When a client sees a full example, it can unintentionally influence what they are making and may skew what they are presenting in their art making.